Fritz Leiber – Swords Against Death (1970) Review

The second collection of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser stories and this time we finally get to read some proper sword and sorcery adventure stories that are not prequels or otherwise introductory works. The first collection, Swords and Deviltry, was full of stories written at the tail end of Leiber’s career. Prequels written after the fact. But the story of the two heroes really started thirty years earlier in the 1940s with simple adventure stories. Those are the ones we embark on now.

It is remarkable though how little Leiber’s style has changed over the course of those three decades. The first story in the collection is from 1970 and simply ties the previous book to this one and written when the collection was put together, but then the next story, Jewels in the Forest, is from 1939. It is noticeable in this early story that Leiber is still practicing his writing a little bit as he introduces the characters on the first pages, but soon the narrative runs smoothly and Fafhrd and Mouser’s banter soon feels very familiar. Reading about these young guys in these older stories now makes it obvious that Leiber wanted to write stories like Howard’s and Clark Ashton Smith’s, but with more human, relatable characters. Fafhrd and Mouser are emotionally quite young. They don’t want to show weakness to each other. They boast to each other and romp.

Leiber’s imagination is far more playful and wide-ranging than Howard’s. I’m not far from the truth when I say that the Conan stories are about evil sorcerers, big snakes and damsels in distress. Leiber in contrast cooks up far stranger creatures and the denouements of his stories are surprising and dramatic. More like a Scooby Doo version of Clark Ashton Smith. And inventions like the Thieves Guild attest to that imagination and still influence fantasy writers today. 

There is a rough timeline that many of the stories are hooked into, and provides a little extra emotional depth and character development. Fafhrd and Mouser both lost their first loves in a very traumatic manner, which became an emotional driver for their journey across the world (a flight, really), for their friendship and their refusal to settle. It also explains why there are very few stories about them rescuing damsels in distress, thus far. Fafhrd and Mouser are still searching for a way to process what has happened and cannot bring themselves to start new relationships. Some stories confront them with these traumas and give them a measure of moving on, notably Thieves’ House and The Price of Pain-Ease. I really appreciated that bit of continuity and development. There is also a plot thread that sees the two flung to the other side of an ocean and takes them a couple of stories to journey back.

This collection is a good reflection of what Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser are all about. Wacky, inventive fantasy stories. Two young guys having each other’s back. They’re not the smartest and their communication is hampered by little male pride, but their friendship is strong enough for them to keep surviving and having a little fun in the process. 

Stories included:

• The Circle Curse 
• The Jewels in the Forest 
• Thieves’ House 
• The Bleak Shore 
• The Howling Tower 
• The Sunken Land 
• The Seven Black Priests 
• Claws from the Night
• The Price of Pain-Ease
• Bazaar of the Bizarre